Burmese pair Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, who are accused of killing Islander David Miller (24) and 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge from Norfolk on the island of Koh Tao in September, say they were on the beach ‘playing guitar’ the night the holidaymakers were killed.
The 22-year-old migrant workers’ trial is due to start next Wednesday.
Since Mr Miller and Miss Witheridge’s bodies were recovered from Sairee Beach on 15 September, controversy has surrounded the police investigation.
Now, speaking to an English newspaper from a prison on Koh Samui, where they have been held since October, Zaw Lin said: ‘We did not commit this crime.
‘We did not even see the people who were killed.
‘We had the night off from work with our friend so we were near the beach, playing guitar.
‘We had three drinks and got quite drunk because we don’t normally take alcohol, so we went to bed.’
The defendant added that they were sharing a cell with up to 27 other inmates but they were ‘well’ and able to do exercises.
Among the allegations are claims that the suspects were tortured into originally confessing to the crime and that the crime scene was contaminated.
The Thai police say the investigation has been carried out correctly and they maintain that they have concrete evidence in the form of DNA linking the pair to the murders.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, rape, illegally entering the country and residing without the correct documentation.
They face being sentenced to death by lethal injection if convicted of murder.
Meanwhile, Andy Hall, international affairs adviser for the Migrant Worker Rights Network, which is representing the defendants, has issued an 11th-hour plea for more witnesses to come forward.
He told the JEP: ‘The defence team continues to call for all those who saw anything or know anything about what happened in September on Koh Tao.
‘They should contact the defence team urgently. This will contribute to ensuring a fair trial and justice in the case.’
- September 15 2014: The bodies of Islander David Miller (24) and 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge are found on the Thai island of Koh Tao.
- October 3 2014: Two Burmese men, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both 21 at the time, are arrested and charged with the murders following DNA analysis. The pair then confessed to the killings.
- October 3 2014: Hundreds of Islanders attend the funeral of David Miller at Trinity Church
- October 8 2014: A petition emerges on line calling for British detective to launch their own investigation into the murders following allegations that the Burmese defendants may have been set up
- October 9 2014: The defendants withdraw their confessions and claim they were tortured by Thai police
- October 20 – 23 2014: The UK Foreign Office announce that British detectives will travel to Thailand to oversee the investigation following an intervention from Prime Minister David Cameron.
- November 28 2014: The defendants are denied bail by a court in Koh Samui
- December 9 2014: The families of David Miller and Hannah Witheridge express their relief that the investigation is progressing but call for a fair and transparent trial
- December 26 2014: The defendants appear at court in Koh Samui for the start of their trial. However it is postponed until July to allow for more witnesses to come forward.
- February 19 2015: A lawyer representing the defendants calls for witnesses including other migrant works and British tourists to come forward
- April 30 2015: Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo appear in court for the first time since December. The judge grants the defence teams request for DNA evidence to be re-examined.
